Officials give update on Eastman Business Park

Government leaders gathered Friday at Eastman Kodak Co.’s Theatre on the Ridge to mark last week’s agreement on operating terms for the Eastman Business Park.

The agreement between the state and Kodak will result in a $49 million environmental trust fund created by Kodak and managed by the state Department of Environmental Conservation to pay for remediation at the business park.

It also includes a provision for Recycled Energy Development LLC to own and operate utilities at the 1,200-acre site, and for Kodak to maintain a critical mass of its operations there.

Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy, Rochester Mayor Thomas Richards, Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks and Greater Rochester Enterprise Inc. president and CEO Mark Peterson joined state Assemblyman Joseph Morelle, D-Irondequoit, and state Sen. Joseph Robach, R-Greece, during a presentation updating progress at the business park.

Kodak was represented by Senior Vice President Bradley Krutchten, who also represented the company during the negotiations.

“I grew up a few blocks from where we stand now, on Dewey Avenue,” said Duffy, the former Rochester mayor. “I worked at Kodak between high school and college. My wife worked at Kodak for almost 20 years. My father-in-law spent an entire career here. This is very personal for me.

“I’m very proud of the fact that I went to the governor (Andrew Cuomo), who is not only a colleague but a friend, and the governor made it very personal for him, too.”

Kodak’s advanced manufacturing operations, the Kodak Technical Center, will be located in the business park, the agreement states. It also calls for Kodak to lease space to two companies at the business park it intends to sell as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding.

“Kodak has left a legacy with this park,” Duffy said. “A $49 million fund they are funding themselves relieves all the environmental liabilities for current business owners and future business owners.”

“They’re going to keep a significant presence here, which is a great legacy. They’re going through the throes of bankruptcy, but they still focused on this as a huge priority.”